Golden Gates
by IntraSule
Summary: The peace between the humans of the world and Pictonians was to last forever, symbolized by the great golden Gate built high for all to see. It only took one mistake to send them all back to a war.
1. Chapter 1

_A well-dress stepped onto the stage, cameras flashing and rolling and microphones held high to reach him. The authority this man held over the situation was apparent: medals that decorated his formal military uniform, gait that was straight and proper in form, and an air of discipline and command from his years of experience in the battlefield._

_As this man stood behind the podium on stage, the room grew uncomfortably silent. Gone was the clamor that media workers like paparazzi and interviewers used to do to get the first question out to the spokesman of interest. In fact, it seemed that any usual selfish intention of making the big score in news coverage was gone, and rightly so; these people wanted answers. Like the millions at home surrounding their television, tuning in to the radio, or waiting patiently for the newspapers to print, this crowd of news reporters are here to learn about the fate of humans, to learn about the progress of the war._

_Before speaking, the man placed the single sheet of notes he took in a meeting onto the podium in front of him and took a deep breath. He gave one final quick skim of his notes and began his speech._

"_Hello to everyone who've made it here this evening, and to those at home listening to this. I am Command Sergeant Major Julius Vargas, speaking for the Global Human Military. We are all here because we are tired of this war against them, against our greatest opponent and threat to civilization. We are here to learn where we stand in this war, and when it will end. And I am here to share to you all that we've reached a conclusion to the war."_

_As straightforward as Julius was with the news, he was kind of expecting some sort of reaction, like cheering, applause, or at the very least a collective sigh of relief, but there wasn't any sign of glee at the news of a war at end. Instead, everyone in the room seemed to be even more adamant to listening, stiff with expectation and bated breath. And if these folks were like this, then it's possible citizens at homes were the same. Good. Because he wasn't finish._

"_Our Intelligence and theirs have met numerous times during these battles to negotiate terms for a treaty our species can agree on, something that may work for us both in these troubling times." It was at this part that he paused, bracing himself for the reaction he knew was to come. "We have decided that since they are not willing to leave our planet, we will instead give them a section of the planet to inhabit."_

_Silence. Honestly, Julius was expecting an uproar from the crown, anger that he himself feels brewing inside as he speaks about sharing the planet with its invader. Or were they too tired to feel anger, and just want this to end. He was about to continue when a dark brown hand rose high above the audience._

"_Yes?"_

_The person stood up, holding up a microphone to her mouth. "Sergeant Vargas, excuse the skepticism, but how would we be able to trust the invaders and know that we aren't risking our lives."_

_Julius stared at the reporter, sparing a few moments to think of her question before chuckling softly. "Honestly, I do not know," he replied. "Let me speak for myself here. I don't trust any of them. After seeing how capable they are of destruction and decimation, I'm a little miffed that we are allowing them to stay among us, giving close to half our planet for them. But they are still on foreign land, on an entire new planet that they have less than basic knowledge of. If worse comes to worst, we'd at least have that advantage. Again, I am only speaking for myself with this opinion, and not for the GHM."_

_Another reporter spoke up. "Are there other terms we have to meet?"_

"_Yes, there are," Julius said. He looked at his hastily scrawled notes and skimmed down to where he left off. "Once a barrier has been set up, we are not allowed to attack the other party. There will be no crossing the barrier, either, unless it's for official business. Any strike from either side and the other will be allowed to act in defense."_

"_So how are we going to give them half of our planet, as you say?" The first reporter asked. "What 'barrier' will we have?"_

_Again, Vargas paused. But instead of pausing because he wanted to think of the answer, he hesitated out of embarrassment. Trying to keep a professional appearance, Julius kicked himself for looking sheepish at a time like this, mouth curling up in a doubtful smile. "Again, speaking for myself, they way we're going about this is... outlandish..."_


	2. A Mistake Was Made

The red ash, colored by the hue of the atmosphere, swirled in the air as a combat boot pressed into it, settling back to the ground around a deep footprint. This footprint was one of many in tracks that lined the base of the Gate, a massive, golden wall of peace- or a mere structure of forced solitude, as many may feel- built between the remaining citizens of Earth and the Pictonians. It was made from various precious metals and other alloys that the citizens could find, melted together and coated with weatherproof varnish so it can stand for as long as the treaty it symbolizes lasts.

And it must be guarded. Although the famed Treaty of Pasithea, created by the Pictonians and the human's Global Human Military ambassador twenty odd years ago, was supposed to mean the end of hostility between the opposing fighters for both sides to rest, neither one of the sides trusted the other to not breach the Gate illegally for an attack. Just as they were sure the other side was guarding themselves, they too took up arms and remained watchful over their side of the Gate, assigning watch shifts to low-ranking military cadets that have proven themselves capable of staying aware for long hours and giving long-ranged clean shots with assault rifles. In teams, the guards, at least the human guards as they know, paced the Gate, spread out every two hundred yards to cover space. As vital as this job is, it is not a glamorous one, and with no known attacks for twenty years, the cadets who are usually assigned this task now view it as pointless, and downright boring and insulting.

As the red ash continued to swirl around pacing feet, a guard suddenly stopped in his tread and sighed loudly. "Jesus fuck, this job stinks!" the guard, Antonio, grunted into his helmet's speaker as he kicked some of the ash and dirt up with the steel toe of his boot.

His squad members turned to him, one of them giving him disapproving glares through the visor. "Major Carriedo, this is seriously not the time for your complaining," one of them stated sternly. "Get back to your work or I'll have to report you to Command."

"Ah, cut the military stuff out for a few minutes, wouldya, Gil?" Antonio said as he sat down on the soft ground. He laid his rifle down beside him and switched off his helmet before unlatching it and lifting it off his head. He shook his short, brown hair and pushed back his bangs from his sweaty forehead. "It's seriously too hot right now."

"I really could not care less how 'hot' it is, Major Carriedo." The soldier named Gil brushed pass the third soldier and stood in front of Antonio, one hand placed on his hip and the other hanging by his side, his hand skillfully holding on to his rifle with his finger close to the trigger. "When you have a task to fulfill, you do it, not skip out on your duties for the third damn time this week and risking your squad's positions in the military!"

"Geez, Gil, it was only this week out of the entire months we were here, calm down. Why are you always such a hard ass around this time?"

"I'm such a 'hard ass'-" Gil used his free hand to make air quotation marks, "-because I like to take our missions in the military seriously, thank you very much! And because we have the added bonus of actually getting paid for this shit, so you might as well not be some lazy prick."

"Ah, hey, you guys-" the third guy tried to interrupt, stepping closer to the two and holding his hand up.

"I'm not lazy, Gil. I just do not see the point of doing this day in and day out when no one is attacking at all, and when we could have done other stuff, too. Especially with this damn hot weather melting me like butter."

"If you weren't going to do your job, what was the point of even enlisting?" Gil shot back. He threw his hand up in the air. "What, so a little heat is too much for you, then how are you even going to survive in the battlefield when we have to truly take on the Pictonians, where there will be heat blasting at you from every single angle? And I don't mean the weather, either!"

"We'll reach that point when we get there," the third soldier replied, tugging at Gil's arm to get his attention. "For right now, how about we not start a battle here, okay? Antonio's right, it's too hot. It's just the heat making you irritable. Come on." He slung the rifle's strap on his shoulder and switched off his helmet, too. He took his off and let it drop to his feet as he reached for his ponytail. He untied the hair string and let his long, blond hair loose before regathering it and hitching it up higher to his head. "God, I'm sweating like a pig, here. My entire neck's flooding."

"Maybe if you two actually got your hair cut like protocol stated, you wouldn't be so hot and sweaty," Gil grumbled.

Francis tied his hair string tightly and then crossed his arms, head tilted in amusement. "Gil, take off the helmet. We know you're hot, too."

Gil shook his head. "No."

"Yeah, take off your helmet, Gil." Antonio folded his arms on his knees and rested his chin on them, smiling up at Gil. "The heat's probably why you're such a hothead right now, all that hot air from your ego filling up your helmet."

Gil glared Antonio down and wordlessly kicked ash at him. Antonio covered his face, coughing and snickering in spite of the rude act.

Francis gave Gil a pat on the back. "Come on, Gil, just take it off, no one's trying to get you in trouble. Besides, you'd be useless anyway if you passed out from heatstroke and can't stop the oh-so threatening invaders. Cool off for a minute."

"...I swear to God, if I get in trouble for this..." Gil mumbled as he pressed in his code to deactivate his helmet. He unlatcheded his helmet and took it off one-handed, revealing that he was the only one of his friends to get his hair shaved down to a close cut. He went to the Gate and leaned his back against it, and slid down until he was sitting next to Antonio with his helmet resting on his lap.

Antonio nudged him with his elbow. "Better?"

Gil pulled an irritated face. "I guess."

"Aw, don't pout, Gil, we'll get back to work after a few minutes, no one's going to notice." Francis looked around, squinting into the red-hued space at the other cadets. "I don't think we are the only ones who do it, either."

"That's not the point, Francis," Gil said. "We still have jobs to do, and I seriously do not want to lose mine because of this tomato freak over here." He jabbed his elbow into Antonio's arm. "I wish both of you took this seriously, though; even if there hasn't been a battle with the Pictonians for years, we still need to work on our duties, since it's part of the training we get here. And if we get caught slacking off, what job will we have to support our families, huh? I'm pretty sure that that little medical center Matthew's in won't let him stay for a discount any longer, Francis."

Francis looked taken aback, and his shoulders slumped. He looked down at his boots as he said, "Yeah, I know..."

"Christ, Gil, can't you calm down for a second?" Antonio rolled his eyes and shook his head. "For a guy who holds the barracks' record for the most chugged ale, you sure know how to bring a simple good mood down. Was that even necessary, bringing little Mattie into this?"

"I know how to separate fun and work when I need to, and I didn't mean anything bad by it. I just-" Gil shook his head as well. "We just need to focus on what we need to do, especially since we have families depending on us, and soon, all of civilization."

Antonio and Francis glanced at each and back at Gil. "What kind of hero coke are you snuffing? Talking about being humanity's heroes all of a sudden."

"Well, he's not lying. We do have a lot on our shoulders." Francis crouched to Gil's eye level. He grinned softly as he continued, "So how about this? We just take a ten minute break, get back to pacing this gigantic wall of gold like we're supposed to, and then after our shift, Tony and I treat you to a few rounds of that specially-brewed beer you wanted to try so long."

Gil raised his eyebrow. "The one made from malted sugar and lemons and taste like alcoholic lemon candy?"

Francis nodded. "The very one."

"Okaaaay... How about this: just two rounds and then you both have to give me twenty push-ups?"

"How about three rounds and ten credits each from us?"

"Hell, I'll give you ten credits right now if you'll quiet down," Antonio offered.

Gil snuffed indignantly but put out his hand anyway, smiling smugly as Antonio reached into his large pocket on his pants leg, pulled out a burlap pouch, and took out a flat, credit-card sized electronic that looked like a silver screentouch pad. He entered "10", hit a button on the screen with a red "P" on it, and handed it to Gil. Gil took it and held it back to back with his own, holding the scanners close together until the funds transferred to Gil's device.

"There, no more bitching from me," Gil said as he handed Antonio's device back.

Francis snickered and rose from his crouching. "Okay, so now that we're all dandy here, let's- wait..."

Francis trailed off, squinting towards the distance. Confused, Gil and Antonio looked towards the same direction. "What the hell is that?" Antonio wondered aloud as they spotted movement.

In the ashy haze, it looked like two body builders trekking towards the wall with heavy-looking bulky parcels on their backs. Both of them were clothed in black, baggy pants, combat boots, and thick black vests, the uniform of the GHM's Black Operatives.

"Are the Black Ops carrying out a mission here?" Antonio asked, a little excited at seeing a possible cool undercover mission play out before him.

Francis shook his head. "Not out here, they wouldn't, right? Not in plain sight." He shielded his eyes and looked at the direction they came from. "And they aren't situated in the bases' barracks, either."

"That's because they aren't Black Ops," Gil said, pushing himself off the ground while keeping his eyes keenly on the two moving figures. He slipped his helmet back on and activated it. Once the visor came on, he zoomed in on the heavily-clad subjects, and noted quickly how abnormal their built was; even for the required physique of one of the top-ranking soldiers in those types of missions, they were a little too muscular and tall to be discreet and capable.

Gil watched the two figures run closer to the wall, rifle slowly rising as the visor readings on the soldiers activated. Then one of their pants leg hitched up from the fast sprint they were in. The calf was scaly and pale, veins pulsing and visible even under the stretchy though-looking scales. Although he never seen one personally before, Gil knew by textbook descriptions alone to hold his rifle up and place his finger on the trigger as he screeched, "PICTONIANS!"

Antonio jumped up and snatched his rifle in his hand. "Whoa, what the fuck?!"

"PICTONIANS! WE HAVE PICTONIANS! CODE RED!" Gil pressed a button on the side of his helmet, connecting with the other officers as he shouted the alert code into his microphone. He then pulled the trigger, releasing a spray of yellow-orange ion blasts to his targets.

"Dammit, how-?" Francis cut himself off as he, too, opened fire to the two intruders.

Gil's shots pierced the slower Pictonian in its leg and shoulder, bringing it down to the ground and limiting its ability to reach for its gun. When that one was down, they all aimed for the other one that was getting away. It realized that it was the next target and pumped its legs faster, pounding its feet into the ground and pushing itself faster and farther and avoiding all of the ammunition the squad unloaded on it.

"Shit, we're not making any hits!" Antonio took out his empty clip and reloaded his rifle with a new one. He put on his helmet and activated the visor readings before taking off after the Pictonian. He had to get closer for a better shot. He had to catch the alien before it reaches the wall and escapes to its side with whatever it's carrying, probably weapons to try to fight the humans with. He stopped and took aim when the Pictonian soldier dove towards the wall, half of its body...going through it?

"Toni, wait!" Gil and Francis shouted at him through the microphone, but it was too late. Blinded with panic of a Pictonian breaching into their side on their watch, Antonio pulled his trigger and unleashed all of the ion energy his current clip had. The ion stream hit the entire lower half of the Pictonian, burning dark holes in its legs and clothes. The alien stopped moving moments after.

Antonio reached the Pictonian's body and doubled over in exhaustion. "Oh, my god," he panted.

Gil and Francis came up behind him, and they both examined the mess before them. The Pictonian's body was absolutely hulking, much bigger than what the three cadets expected, and half of it was inside the wall, or at least that how it appeared at first.

Gil pushed his hand onto the wall, only to push through it and create a wave of disturbance through the hologram. "Shit! A hole!" Gil took his hand back and hit a part of the actual wall. "A freaking hole. How did no one know about this?! Shit, how many of these aliens have been going in and out their side so freely?"

"We have a bigger problem, Gil," Francis said. He crossed his arms and stared at the body. He tried to stifle his panic at the broken rule that took place right before him, but couldn't think of anything else besides that one clause of the Pasithea Treaty that the instructors beat into newcomers' heads every day.

Antonio shook his head. "Maybe... Maybe they won't notice," he said when he finally kept his breath. "We can pull this thing in and hide it somewhere before the other Pictonians find it and we just..." Antonio grew quiet as he felt Gil's glare through the visor.

"Antonio, just what the hell makes you think they aren't going to notice one of their own dead sticking out on their side of the Gate?" Gil shouted.

"Maybe they will notice if you keep shouting it out to the heavens!" Antonio threw his hands up. "Seriously, Gil, shut the fuck up!"

"Oh, my god, I thought we were finished fighting for today..." Francis sighed. "Look! Both of you, calm down so we can think clearly of this. We'll call in other officers and our commanders and have this sorted out and-"

Francis stopped, and they all froze as the body twitched. As if being snatched away, the dead Pictonian quickly disappeared into the holographic part of the wall to the other side.

"Uh, oh," Antonio murmured.

"...Okay, I think they know, now," Francis added.

Suddenly, a boom sounded from the other side of the Gate, shaking the Gate itself and the ground the three cadets stood on. A red flare flashed in the sky as a missile shot up into the clouds, and a whistling noise followed as it descended to the human side of the Gate.

"HOLY SH-!" Was the last thing Gil shouted before his voice was drowned out by the burst of missile power hitting the earth, pushing the ash and soil from the ground up into a cloud that spread all over the area.

"_A worldwide gate?" The reporter asked._

_Julius nodded. "Yes."_

_The room grew silent, its occupants taking in the bizarre news. _

_Julius continued. "The GHM have decided that since the Pictonians have invaded and occupied half of the world already, the __best __way we can end their takeover of the entire planet is to divide it for their __habitation__ and ours __at the equator. There will be walls built on the land and sonar buoys in the oceans, and the Pictonians will take the __S__outhern __H__emisphere, __to put it simply."_

_A reporter raised his hand. "With all due respect, Sgt. Vargas, this idea does not seem beneficial for the human race. Their taking the Southern Hemisphere means a majority of our continents goes to them, and that limits the space humans can live in. Not only that, but how can we truly trust them to not attack us yet again? Can a simple wall deter further attacks?"_

"_I would hope so, since both parties have signed and agreed to the Treaty of Pasithea, which is our physical contract calling for ceasefire. The most important condition set in this treaty is that no member of the other party is to be killed if they are on their own side."_

_The room __filled with murmurs, and Julius can sense the doubt, even outright denial, of this plan's effectiveness. He can understand completely, because although he was supposed to be a speaker to explain to the citizens how this will work, he can sense the bullshit as it came out of his mouth._

_He cleared his throat and continued. "__The reason for this clause in the treaty is that targeting a population within their own borders will only cause a needless commotion, especially with the idea that they are not harming us anymore within our borders. If there is a need for self-defense, though, that can be justifiable, but other than that..." He shrugged. "We just don't shoot them on their side, plain and simple."_

_J__ulius then felt a shudder go down his spine; he had a bad feeling about this..._

* * *

><p>Heh heh, I forgot to post the first chapter.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

This was not how today was supposed to happen. Just a few hours ago- maybe two or three hours- the day was peaceful, the sky a clear, cloudless red that brought with it the harshest of summer heat. The roughest thing the citizens had to go through was beating or drifting through the consumer rush that usually happened at the market villa during this time of day. And now, this.

This dropping of bombs by large flying ships that destroyed humble homes and barracks and lit the ruins aflame. This billowing of smoke as it reached up to the sky, blanketing the citizens below in a suffocating darkness that left many of them coughing and panting for air. This mixture of sounds that seemed to go in a rushed, messy rhythm- first came the whistling and booming of dropped plasma bombs, then came the crash of crumbling buildings, followed by the anguished cries of some people who either were injured or lost a loved one right in front of them.

The little girl thought of this as she stood in front of a pile of cinder blocks and glass that she knew her mother was under, staring at the limp, pallid arm that hung bloodied and crushed-looking out of the pile's opening. The little girl turned her analyzing gaze up to the smoke-thick sky, where the glowing blue vibration of the hovercraft's underbelly broke through the thick cloud of ash. As it descended and opened a trap door that released a missile above her, the little girl wondered how was it possible that in one minute, her mother was taking her out for linen shopping to get fabrics to make her daughter a pretty dress, and the next minute, they couldn't get away fast enough before some blasted wall took her. The little girl stared intently at the missile coming her way, tilting her little head as she wondered what these flashing, round ball things were exactly.

"_HOLY SHIT, LOOK OUT!_"

Before the missile landed on her, a soldier broke through the mass of stampeding people and snatched the little girl up by her waist. The soldier ran quickly away, holding the little girl in one arm and pressing her face into his armored chest as the round, little bomb blew into the earth, leaving an illuminating orange plasma that melted into the compact soil. Even though the little girl couldn't see the bomb that almost killed her, she knew that it must have been powerful if she can feel the heat and see the glow all the way from this man's arms. She looked up at the soldier that rescued her just in time, and he must have been very tired; his face was covered by his helmet's face guard, but she can still hear heavy pants through the plastic, and where the face guard of his helmet ended, sweat trickled through and continued down his neck and shirt. And amidst the cries of people getting hurt by the bombs and the laser guns and whatever else Mommy likes to call "those fucking monsters" have to use, the little girl can still hear the soldier muttering "Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god..."

The little girl wanted to ask the man something: what was going on, why are _they_ here, and why are they destroying everything and hurting people and will he save Mommy. But the little girl wasn't done contemplating this destruction, wasn't done with realizing just what was going on around her or out of the paralyzing fear, so she kept her face close to her savior's chest so she wouldn't breathe so much of the ash and dirt and smoke that's starting to close her throat and sting her eyes.

_Oh, god, what am I going to do? _Antonio wondered as he sped through the crowd of survivors running for their lives and burnt, twisted-looking corpses and limbs littering the streets, holding close to him a random little girl that happened to be in his path as he was running. In this frenzy mess of his mind, that question was the only coherent thing that Antonio can focus on: what was he going to do? He should know what to do in a disaster like this, since he literally trained for months for this. He was supposed to stand with his fellow fighters with rifle in hand, face-to-face with the alien threat to take them on; he was supposed to put all of those long hours of training diligently with Gilbert and Francis to good use to push back the Pictonian forces, but at the moment, he had to do something completely different, and possibly something selfish.

It seemed to take Antonio forever to reach his squadron's station, especially when he had to carry this surprisingly heavy child in his arms and dodge the rain storm of plasma missiles and ion shooters, but when he saw the rows of cement rectangular buildings, he can feel a sigh of relief rise in his chest. He held it in, though; he wasn't there yet, and he definitely didn't accomplish his first priority until this little girl was put somewhere safe and he had reached them.

The closer Antonio got to the bases, the more concentrated the fleet of soldiers running out with weapons at the ready became. Antonio stopped for a moment and looked around. Among the mass of GHM fighters heading to battle were ordinary citizens already rushing into the ground-level double doors of every available emergency underground bunkers that they can find. Antonio went over to one of the double doors and guided the little girl through as others pushed themselves inside. He backed away and waved at her little confused face before the last sight of her descended. He turned away, going back into a full sprint towards his destination. He had to get to them before the bombs do. Faster and faster he went, the panicking crowds of people and the gray concrete bunkers whirring past him into a blur. But he was not fast enough to beat the sounds of battle- of the whistles of plasma missiles, the after-buzz of ion ammunition, and the crackle of buildings crumbling- as the battle crept closer.

At the end of the initial section of bunkers, Antonio cut a sharp corner and swerved into another section, going off on a shortcut once he found the deflated tire wheel jutting out of the gravel he uses as a landmark to save traveling time. He had to cut through path after path of fighters whose movements were so organized, so eerily prepared and calm in such a dire situation they were all suddenly thrown into, that Antonio had wondered absurdly just how bad was the battle being waged, and should he instead go along with them and fight the Pictonians alongside his fellow soldiers?

One scream through the air, from a voice too close and too young to belong to any soldier willing to die for their species on the battlefield, was enough of an answer to make Antonio push against the balls of his feet and speed through. He made another turn through the bunkers, and up ahead his new path was the civilian bunker he was looking for, the one the GHM assigned for Antonio's chosen family members. He slid to a stop in front of it and kicked the door in. He started to step inside, but as soon as Antonio did, his body began to feel like an old toy ready to shut down and fall apart piece by piece. He held on to the steel doorframe with one hand and took off the helmet- its face guard fogged with hot air and the smell of sweat- with the other hand.

The veins in his head pulsed against his skull, and his lungs burned so much from the dusty air and the seven kilometer dash, but he still inhaled deeply and forced out, "VENE! LOVI! _CODE BLACK_!"

"Toni?" A tiny voice quivered hesitantly. "Toni, is that you?"

Antonio finally took that deep sigh of relief that was pushing against his chest. He attached his helmet to a latch on his ammunition belt and made his body move from the doorway. He followed the tiny voice- and some sniffling that he picked up on the closer he got- and fell onto his knees besides one of the lower bunk beds. He lifted the blanket up and peeked underneath it.

Lying close together on the floor were two tiny faces peeking back at him, red and soaked with tears that still trickled down their dust-covered cheeks. One of them whimpered and huddled against the other, older-looking brother, whose face was set hard with fury and protectiveness within the terror. A slight calm washed over them when they saw who it was.

"Toni, the aliens are attacking!" The younger brother, Veneziano, cried. "Lovi and I hid just like you told us but we were so worried that you got killed by them and that we had to hide forever and Lovi was so mean, he said that you were out there being a soldier like you should and that you are already dead we shouldn't depend on you to come and that we were trapped forever and-"

"I didn't say it like that!" Lovi tried to yell, but his own voice was so cracked with relief and terror that he sounded too hoarse to be forceful.

"But you might as well, and now Toni's here and we're safe, but oh my goodness, what if the aliens get to us-?"

"Veneziano, you need to remain calm," Antonio interjected. He moved over so that the little ones could crawl out and quickly wiped their eyes with his gloved thumbs. "Remember, stay calm to stay alive. Are you guys ready to run?" The two nodded. "Good. Do you guys know where Gilbert's little brother is?"

They shook their heads in reply, but Veneziano gasped, "Oh, wait! I think he's still in his bunker, too!"

"Vene, I don't need 'I think,' I need 'I know.' Are you _sure _you know he's in his bunker?"

Veneziano and Lovino both squeezed their eyes tightly to visualize the last place they saw him, with Antonio anxiously looking back out the open door frame and holding his quivering hand near his firearm. "Come on, you two-!"

Lovino's eyes shot open and he nodded rapidly, his dark brown bangs brushing against his forehead as he said, "Yeah, yeah! He's in his bunker! He always goes to bed at this time just like Gilbert!"

"But what if he got to the underground-" Veneziano started asking, but stopped when another sound grew in the distance. There was a loud whistle in the air and a flash in the sky that they could see even from where they stood in the small concrete room. Below their feet, the floor shook and all around them, the lights flickered until it, like the lights in the other bunks, went out. Veneziano and Lovino's eyes bulged as they looked at each other, and Veneziano let out a loud wail as his knees began crumpling.

"Come on!" Antonio snatched up their tiny hands before Veneziano landed on the ground and pulled them out into the open. He used the faraway yet bright glow of the encroaching battle fire to look for any sign of a Pictonian solder or hovercraft within the ruby red night. Feeling that the area was as safe as it can get at this point, Antonio forced himself and his two young cousins to dart through the bunkers to get to the one he remembered assigned to Gilbert's younger brother. It wasn't long before he stopped in front of it to find that the door was left open and the bunker was seemingly empty.

"Ludwig!" Antonio called out into the space. He stepped closer into the doorway and poked his head in. "Ludwig, are you in there? Come on, we gotta code black! We have to get moving _now_!"

A vocal response didn't come. Instead, a small, blond-haired head popped out from under one of the lower bunkers. He squinted until he made out the silhouette of the familiar face in the flashing light of explosives. With a soft grunt, Ludwig pulled himself out from underneath the bed and sprinted past the soldier and his cousins. He waved his hand at them anxiously.

"Come on, let's go! Lead the way!" He shouted over his shoulder, his blue eyes wide with fright even with that levelheadedness taking over him.

Antonio nodded and tugged his young cousins after him. "Gil sure raised him well," he murmured. "Come on, you two!"

The young soldier and his cousins caught up with Ludwig, and all four of them raced through the civilian bunkers on a path that Toni led them through, the gravel and soil beneath their feet rumbling like an earthquake ready to happen and tripping them all a few times. The run to get the children to safety seemed to take forever with possible death looming over them all, especially over the little ones, but when the sight of the squad bunkers and their emergency underground bunkers greeted them up ahead, Antonio pushed on and nearly yanked Veneziano and Lovino's tiny wrists. He then slowed down to a stop, his face stunned with horror.

"No..." Antonio muttered, his hold on the children's wrists tightening as he stared at the red light above the bunker's lock.

Veneziano pushed his tiny hand against Antonio's grip with a whimper. "Toni? Toni, what's wrong? Toni, you're hurting my arm!"

Antonio knelt in front of the bunker's doors and yanked at the handle while Ludwig went to another and tried the doors on that one. Antonio banged his fist on the steel surface. "Fuck!"

"Mr. Carriedo, this one won't budge, either!" Ludwig stated as he pointed at the emergency bunker he stood by,

Antonio ran to another bunker and another, with Ludwig checking the ones on the other side of the pathway. Nothing; none of them would open for him. He snatched his helmet from his belt and hurriedly slid it on his head. He switched on the helmet and pressed a button to connect to anyone nearby.

A buzz sounded in his helmet's intercom, followed by the sounds of gunfire and explosions, but a voice still shouted in Antonio's ear, "Cadet Kirkland, Zero-Zero-Two-Two-One speaking."

"Kirkland!" Antonio pressed his finger harder onto the intercom button on the side of his helmet. "Kirkland, what the hell happened to all of the emergency bunkers?!"

"Carriedo?!" Kirkland shouted. "Carriedo, where the fuck are you?! We need more manpower over here, goddammit!"

"_Bunkers, _Kirkland! I need an emergency bunker, what happened to them all?!"

"The fuck you need a bunker for?! _Get your ass out here, you fucking coward!_"

"_I HAVE FUCKING KIDS WITH ME!_" Antonio's voice boomed within his helmet. "_I NEED TO GET THEM IN A BUNKER NOW! WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM ALL?!_"

"The hell you think, Carriedo! They're all full- oh, shi-!" Kirkland's end was suddenly drowned out with screams and whizzing gunfire, cut off with a short _pbzt _and silence.

"RRAAAAGH!" Antonio screamed inside his helmet. He slammed his fists into the doors again, spewing one line of swearing after another. "Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit! I was only gone for fifteen damn minutes, how are they all full so suddenly?!" He took another look around the bases with nothing but round red lights surrounding them. He beat his helmet with his fist and threw his head back. "Fuck!"

"T-Toni...?"

Antonio looked behind him at the three little boys, his cousins holding on to one another and his friend's brother glancing towards the orange fire engulfing the military town in the distance. Ludwig walked cautiously closer to the soldier that was on his knees and swearing to the heavens. In all of their eyes, Antonio can see panic and fear turning into terrified tears running down their cheeks.

"Toni, why aren't the bunkers opening for us?" Veneziano asked softly. "Are we going to die?"

Antonio shook his head and stood. "No. No you're not. I'm not gonna allow it. I saved that little girl earlier, I can- I can save you guys, too!" He took their hands again and peered into the distance. "Lovi, Vene, Luddy. Do you guys remember that monument Gilbert and I took you to see? That half-melted overpass in the abandoned part of town?"

"The one with all the old-fashioned bullet holes in the concrete?" Ludwig asked.

Antonio nodded. "That's where we'll be going. They won't head out that far, I'm sure."

With his new idea stated, Antonio started towards the direction he had his eyes on, but as he ran a few paces with the children at his side, Antonio's body crumpled. He fell to his hands and knees, his head hung low as his labored breathing condensed on the face guard. "Oh, my god..."

"Mr. Carriedo!"

"Toni! Hey, you bastard, you better not die on us now!" Lovino shook Antonio's shoulders.

The soldier pushed himself up into a kneeling position and lightly shoved Lovino's hands away. He made himself stand and wrapped his hands tightly around his cousins' wrists. "Do not... swear at me...Lovi," he panted. He gulped dry air. "Come on..." His body sluggishly moved onward and picked up speed when the thrumming of hovercraft engines reached his ears.

Antonio and the children ran through the sections of bases until they made it to the open border of half-gravel, half-sand terrain. They ran parallel their burning and battle-ravaged hometown, Lovino and Veneziano nervously watching the ships flying in the evening red sky and Ludwig reaching over and taking Veneiziano's hand to give it a comforting squeeze. A hovercraft coming their way blew to bits before it reached them, and a part of its engine flew right over Antonio's helmet. The close call made Veneziano scream out, and Ludwig took Veneziano's hand again without letting go.

They reached the border of the deserted section, its gray, noiseless atmosphere distinct from the rest of the town under siege. When his feet touched the cracked concrete, Antonio lifted Veneziano and Lovino and carried them in his arms like sacks and let Ludwig run ahead of him.

"Hey! Quit that! Let us down, you're only slowing yourself!" Lovino slapped his palm against Antonio's stomach. "Hey!"

"Lovino, do _not _slap me while I'm trying to save your life!" Antonio huffed. "Don't worry, I'm going to save you guys!"

Antonio and Ludwig crossed the uneven pieces of concrete and pipes jutting out of the ground and zigzagged their way through the chunks of a highway that once connected this town to theirs like rats through a maze. On the other side of the blockade were the toppled buildings, wrecked cars, and debris-covered roads that made the destructed small town. The runners came to the base of the hill that walled in the town. They all climbed and paused once they reached the top as Antonio tried to map out the quickest way to get to the kids' hiding spot in the desolate district. His eyes jumped from one seemingly clear path to another when each one led to a time-consuming blockade. "Okay, let's go." He ran, then slid, down the dead grassy slope of the hill with Ludwig following his move and the other kids' body bouncing on his shoulders.

Reaching the bottom of the hill, Antonio shouted to Ludwig, "Shortcut, follow me," and began running through the route he had memorized. He and Ludwig hopped over jagged pieces of the road sticking out of the ground, carefully weaved through piles of rubble and glass, and crawled through dark, tight spaces within more dense rubble. They've created so much distance between them and the war zone, yet it wasn't enough to get away from the noises.

Antonio took a moment to glance at the sky; although the night descended upon them and turned the clouds and beyond them a dark violet, the lights of fighter hovercrafts that belonged to both Pictonians and the GHM illuminated the sky in blues and yellow-green with bright explosions of orange from fightercrafts shot down from the air. Yet enough of the enemy flighters made it past the human lines to cross on to the bases. Once there, the Pictonian fliers rained rounds and rounds of plasma missile balls onto the bunkers, with what Antonio guess was the intention to rid that sector of GHM fighters right at the source.

Ludwig looked towards the battle as well, staring longer at where the soldier barracks used to be. "Do you think those people are going to be okay?"

"Doesn't look like it from under here," Lovino replied. "That's a lot of hot plasma."

Veneziano craned his neck to look at the damage. "Those poor people..."

Antonio nodded at both of his cousins' statements. "Yeah..." He let them down gently on their feet when his arms grew too sore to carry them any longer. He took their hands in his again. "Come on, let's keep moving. You're not safe until we get to that overpass."

The soldier and children moved again, with the only sounds beside the fighting going on far away were the cracking of rocks and crunch of dry grass under their feet. Although they still ran, they moved at a slower pace to give Antonio the much needed break his lungs and legs needed to recover. Every so often, all of them would turn their heads back to watch the renewed destruction of humanity, and the more Lovino and Veneziano watched, the stronger their grip on their older cousin's hands grew.

Ahead in their path, the group could see the charred chain link fence and beyond it the ash-covered, half-standing, half-melted overpass. At the fence, Antonio hoisted the children over a section that was melted down and swung his legs over it to the other side. As they trekked across the hard-packed soil stretched out between the fence and overpass, Antonio looked around nervously. His skin crawled; now that they made it to the new safe area, he instantly noticed the eerie silence and lifelessness of the place, made worse by the starless sky and darkness. He slid his rifle strap off his shoulder and positioned the weapon in his hand, with his finger close to the trigger and muzzle pointed at the ground. He turned a small knob on the body of the rifle; it glowed orange with life and hummed as the ammunition began to charge up.

"Hey, do you guys think you'll be okay out here?" He asked them after a few moments of silently observing their surroundings.

"Of course we will, Toni!" Veneziano nodded. He slowed down so he can fall back and meet Antonio behind the group. He reached up and patted Antonio's arm. "Especially with you here with us! We're gonna be fine!"

Antonio shook his head. "Oh, little buddy, no, I'm not going to stay with you guys."

Veneziano gasped and stopped. Antonio and the other two children stopped as well, turning their attention to Veneziano as the boy's mind tried to digest what he just heard. "Wh-what do you mean..."

"Vene, I can only take you guys out here to hide you, I can't hide _with _you."

"But- but why?"

"Because he has a battle to go back to," Lovino answered. He crossed his arms and raised an irritate brow. "You didn't think he could run out on his comrades and hide with us, did you?"

"N-no, but-" Veneziano's voice cracked; he bent his head as his lip started to shake, his fingers curling into the dark green fabric of his sweatpants. "But you just started _training_, Toni, you shouldn't- you're going to-!" His protest quickly dissolved into sniffing and then loud bawling. He hiccuped trying to control himself and had to shut his eyes at Lovino shaking his head and giving a disappointed groan.

Antonio sighed and lowered his weapon. He knelt in front of Veneziano and cupped one of his cheeks, cleaning one of the moist streaks down the boy's face again. "Vene. Vene, listen to me. We've talked about this before, have we not?" The boy sniffed and nodded. "You know that I have a duty to fulfill, and that I have to protect you all in this way." Again, Veneziano nodded, but he reached for Antonio's hand on his face and gripped tightly, with no intention of letting go. His light brown teary eyes locked on Antonio's, and the plea all over the child's face was like a knife cutting through Antonio's heart. He did want to stay, to hold them all and shield them from the fight and comfort Vene- and eventually Lovi and Ludwig, no matter how "well" they're handling the current battle- when he breaks down and cry.

But a sonic pulsar missile, created to send waves that rendered ground machinery useless and had the double effect of temporarily dimming the senses of anyone within its waves radius, blasted within the war zone. The sonic pulse disperse and weakened, sending out an ear-splitting ring in the air and vibration in the soil beneath their feet. With no gear to protect them, the children stuck their fingers in their ears and twisted their faces in agony.

"Aw, fuck me!" Lovino cried out above the ringing. He and Ludwig fell to their knees, and Veneziano started to fall against his older cousin.

"Climb on me, everyone!" Antonio ordered. He flung his rifle's strap over his shoulders and snatched Veneziano and Lovino up back in his arms; he stooped with his back turned towards Ludwig to allow him to climb on. Ludwig scrambled onto his back, wrapped his tiny arms around Antonio's neck, and tried to bear the ringing getting into his unprotected ears as Antonio raced through the open area to get to the overpass. Although the ringing faded out seconds later and the blasts of artillery took over again, Antonio still ran with his charges clinging to his body. The fight was getting worse, so much worse that the guilt of not being out there with his comrades and the fear of dying out there eventually overshadowed the relief of getting his family closer to their destination. But as long as the little ones were safe...

Antonio kicked the metallic door in and stepped inside. He let the children down and fell down on his knees again, the impact of his knees hitting the concrete ground sending pangs in his already weakened joints. He tiredly slapped his palm against a button on the side of his helmet and his visor slid up to allow some air into the gear. "Oh, my god," he panted. He dug his fingers into his left chest and started to slump.

"Toni!" Veneziano cried. He and Lovino caught him and tried to keep him upright. Ludwig stood away, looking around the cramped space helplessly and uncertainly. Veneziano tugged his sleeve up to his palm and tried his best to dab away the sweat on Antonio's face through the open area of the helmet. "Oh, Toni, you're too tired to fight! Please don't go out there! Please!"

"Urgh, dammit, I knew it!" Lovino wrapped Antonio's arm around his shoulder and grunted under the heavy weight of Antonio's body leaning against him. "I _knew _that you'd get too tired to fight when you tried to carry us! Now you have to lie down and- hey! You, useless over there, find something for Toni to lie on!"

Ludwig jumped at the sudden barked orders and gestured in confused at the empty, cobwebbed room. He then shrugged off his jacket, laid it on the ground, and was going to take off his sweatshirt next when Antonio shook his head and said, "No. No, no, Ludwig, don't... don't, you don't need to, I'm fine."

"But they're right, Mr. Antonio!" Ludwig protested.

"No, I have to go back out now, but first I-" he straightened up and made the children gather in front of him. He directed a stern yet exhausted look towards Lovino and gripped one of his shoulders. "Lovino, listen to me... I won't be here to protect you guys during the fight, so what... what I need you guys to do is... hide here until either a member of the GHM finds you or until- until... holy shit." He took a deep breath and continued, trying to get his message out in between his panting. "Until the battle has died down. I don't know when that will be, so... so- and I can't believe I'm saying this to children- but if you feel that the fight died down enough, come out and... and just get to the bunkers."

Antonio wheezed and patted his chest. At first, the children thought he was gripping his chest again and were getting ready to panic, but their worries eased when Antonio reached into his uniform's outer layer and pulled out a plasma Magnum. He took Lovino's hand and placed the pistol into the open palm. Lovino gazed wide-eyed at the weapon; it was a lot heavier than he imagined when he and Veneziano watched Antonio practice with it, and even though it wasn't on, it was still terrifying to hold. Antonio twisted a small knob under the Magnum's electronic sight and turned the weapon over to check out the muzzle. Under the narrow reading that glowed softly, there was a switch that slid from the base of the Magnum's barrel to the tip that controlled how much power each shot had. Antonio slid the switch up the barrel and the blue-green glow intensified. Curling Lovino's fingers around the handle and placing the other hand on the bottom for support, Antonio pushed the gun downward so it wouldn't aim at anyone.

"You still remember how to use this, Lovi?"

His rising fear clumping in his throat, Lovino gulped and nodded. "Y-yeah..."

"Good. Now since you are the oldest here, what I need _you _to do is protect your brother and your friend and keep everyone in and any unwanted intruders out." That sentenced winded him, and the louder and closer the whizzing of fighter crafts came, the less time he felt he had with them, so he instead kept the rest of his instructions short.

"Aliens: shoot without question. Keep this pointed down until ready to use. If it gets hot, wait until it cools. If you can't wait, keep shooting no matter what." He slipped a plasma-based magazine pack into Lovino's pants pocket. "That's extra ammunition if you ever need it- and I can only hope you don't." He took both his cousins by the back of their heads and pulled them in for a kiss on their foreheads. He then gestured for Ludwig to come in for an embrace as well, whom went over hesitantly. Antonio kissed his forehead as well and said, "From me and your brother, Gil." He pulled them all into a final hug and stood up.

Positioning his assault rifle back in his arms, Antonio said, "Remember: do not come out no. Matter. What. And Lovi, please no swearing."

And with that he ran out of the door, his dark uniform visible against the fire show of the war in the larger, faraway town. They watched him run towards the area- at a pace really slow no matter how hard he was obviously trying to push his legs beyond their limits- until he shrunk into nothing more than a blackish dot against the background. Lovino pulled the overpass's door shut and stared at the weapon in his hand. In the semi-darkness, with the Magnum's glow the only light source they had, the children sat on the floor and stared into space.

Moments later, a sniffle broke the silence.

"Oh, don't you fucking dare start that again, Veneziano!" Lovino grumbled without looking back.

Veneziano sniffed again and shook his head, even though Lovino couldn't see it. "I- sniff- I-I can't! Toni's out there and there are bombs and guns and the Pictonians and I'm scared, big brother, I-" Veneziano pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in the pants legs. Ludwig scooted closer to him and rubbed his back.

"It'll be okay, Veneziano," Ludwig said softly, and Lovino had to look back in disbelief at how... _weak_ the boy sounded. He flashed the glowing Magnum up to find that Ludwig was weeping too, his hand up to the place where Antonio- and supposedly Gilbert- kissed him goodbye as his eyes glistened wet. Lovino inhaled through his nose and repositioned his body so that he was crouching on one knee with his weapon poised in his hands. He didn't know what he was doing, but if he looked anything at all like what he saw the GHM soldiers do when they want to aim low, he was sure it was a good start.

"Veneziano, Ludwig, you two stop crying, wouldya? We can't make any noise or a Pictonian will find us."

"Lovi, Toni is going to die out there, or get really, really hurt!" Veneziano shouted despite the crack and shake his voice took. "How are you not upset by that? Aren't you scared at all?"

"No, because I remember what Grandpa Julius taught us." Lovino glared at his younger brother, his youthful jaw clenching like their grandfather used to do when feeling irritated but trying to remain patient. "He told us to only weep for the dead, to save your tears and sadness for when you really need them. And Toni isn't even out there on the fighting area yet! But when he does, he'll be fine." He nodded towards Ludwig. "Gilbert will be fine." He faced the door and raised the gun. He peered through the sight, not sure what he was doing seeing as how the door was closed, but it was better than watching two other crying children. "They'll all be fine."

Ludwig and Veneziano shared wondering glances and stared at the back of Lovino's head. Although they still feared for their family's lives and were still shaken by the images of death and disaster, they took the comfort in Lovino's words and inhaled deeply to calm themselves, even though they couldn't stop crying completely.

"O-okay, Lovi, he'll be fine," Veneziano nodded and wiped his snot onto his sleeve. Ludwig pulled him in close to a hug and Veneziano leaned into it. "They'll be fine," he said more softly, not truly convince but willing to take that over the thought of their cousin lying dead and bloodied on the ground, with so many bullet wounds in his torso...

He shook his head and pushed himself tighter into Ludwig's embrace. "No, no, he'll be fine..."

Minute by minute, silence filled the tiny room again, the sniffling taken over by the soft booms and screams in the fight far away. Having kept watch for over two hours, Lovino yawned and lightly slapped his own face to stop himself from falling over to sleep. He looked over his shoulder, smiling to himself at the sight of Ludwig and Veneziano leaning against each other and snoring lightly. He eyed the hand Ludwig had cupped over Veneziano's hand and hummed disapprovingly, but let it go since it wasn't worth waking them up over.

He placed the Magnum over his watch and glanced at it under the light. _19:42. _"Damn," he swore under his breath. It was still so early, yet it was so dark out there, from what he could tell from the crack under the door. He yawned into the back of his hand again and rubbed his lower back; the position he held by the door finally moved up from his knee planted on the concrete floor to the new area.

"This sucks," Lovino grumbled, his rant stifled by another yawn.

A hand tapped on his shoulder. "Do you want to switch?"

Lovino turned his attention behind him again. Ludwig patted Lovino's shoulder while he had his opposite arm wrapped around Veneziano's shoulder to keep him from falling to the floor. Lovino considered the offer; he could barely keep his eyes open at the moment, and the more he focused on his back, the more his pain grew.

He shook his head and positioned the gun back in place. "Nah, it's okay, go back to sleep," he said. It was his responsibility, and Ludwig was too young to handle the gun, anyway.

Ludwig gently shook Veneziano awake and whispered to him. Whatever Ludwig said Veneziano nodded to sleepily, and he let Ludwig lie him down on the floor and rested his head on his folded arms. With Veneziano settled in, Ludwig moved up closer behind Lovino and held out his hands. "Come on, Lovino, you need to take a break, don't you? I can take over for a little bit and we can take turns."

Lovino shook his head again and focused adamantly on watching the door. "No, Ludwig. Antonio trusted _me_ to protect _you_ guys. I'm the oldest, I'm going to keep us safe."

"And you don't think I know how to use a gun?"

"No little kid should use a gun."

"But you're only seven! That's not much older than me!"

Lovino lowered the Magnum one last time and jabbed his finger in Ludwig's face. He was going to end this conversation and send Ludwig back to sleep and get back to his duty he was assigned to.

Then a metal wrenching from the door cut him off short. The steel area around the door's knob twisted into a bunched up fist-shaped imprint, bending the latch completely away from the threshold. The door shook violently with its hinge bolts jumping out of their holes and clattering to the ground. The door ripped away, and Lovino and Ludwig sat gaping at the hulking mass of armor as the milky white slit of eyes of the Pictonian glared down his new prey through the eye holes of its mask.


End file.
